Developer hopes to bring upscale bowling arcade to Delaware County

Two Central Ohioans are trying to strike with a new business while they think the time is right.

The duo plans to bring a $4 million family entertainment center to the Sunbury area, a complex that would include bowling alleys, laser tag, video games, bumper cars and plenty of food.

“The need really stands out,” said Doug Mechling, who is proposing the project with Ty Stover, his partner in Sunbury Entertainment Group. “We’d been looking at this corner of the county.”

The refrain is familiar as others in the area have taken the wraps off similar plans but in different corners of Central Ohio. A 30,000-square-foot bowling and entertainment center is under construction in Pickerington, and a competing bowling and entertainment complex in the suburb remains in planning. Brian Stoner, who developed the Pickerington project with business partner Don Smith, said the complex is scheduled to open June 1.

Dallas-based Dave & Buster’s Inc. also plans to open a 17,000-square-foot arcade and eatery at Polaris Fashion Place’s lifestyle center. It also runs one in Hilliard.

Jerry Merola, managing partner at Amusement Entertainment Management LLC, an East Brunswick, N.J.-based consulting firm, said fun at prices families can afford is a growing business.

“Entertainment has the ability to rise above the challenges of recessions,” he said. “Consumer-based entertainment, like movie theaters and bowling, flourishes.”

Investor wariness

Mechling’s and Stover’s vision for the Sunbury complex mirrors the trend with an upscale menu and attractions aimed at all ages. It’s a business model that covers all parts of the day, from children’s birthday parties to cocktails for the over-21 crowd, Mechling said.

Plans for the center include 22 bowling lanes, four of which can be separated for private events; four mini-bowling lanes; an arcade with skeeball, Playstation and Wii gaming lounges; a two-story laser tag arena; indoor bumper cars; and a so-called “soft play” system for kids that mimics the water guns, slides and pools at water parks, but with foam and balls.

The attractions are designed to appeal to adults, too.

“Dave & Buster’s caught on to that years ago,” Merola said. “Adults are just big kids.”

Dining will include a full-service restaurant, a lounge and a fast-casual counter.

Mechling projects $3 million to $3.5 million in annual sales.

The approach may be popular with entrepreneurs and gaining steam with consumers, but investors need convincing. Mechling said the duo is seeking a development partner and a site, as well as financing from the Small Business Administration. He hopes to find a site by spring, with operations beginning next winter.

The plan has been met with enthusiasm from the community, but the words “bowling alley” can be a tough hurdle to clear for potential investors.

“We have to battle that perception,” he said. “It seems as if we couldn’t get past what just happened in the (stock) market. We’ve had a lot of, ‘Let’s talk after the first of the year.’ ”

Cephas Pearson, who with Pryest Strickland is developing the second Pickerington entertainment complex, said he also has struggled to find funding for his bowling center. They’re planning an 8,600-square-foot center that would include 20 bowling alleys, laser tag, an arcade and casual dining that would cost $5 million to develop.

Entertainment opportunity

There are 6,000 entertainment centers doing $11 billion in annual sales and 5,500 bowling alleys generating $10 billion in annual receipts in the nation, according to Amusement Entertainment Management. Merola said league bowling has been in decline since the 1980s.

“It’s different breeds, different style,” Merola said. “Open bowling is more social. They tend to spend more on-site.”

Demographics differ, too. Fifty-five percent of open bowlers are women and one-third are younger than 30, while league play skews toward older men.

Merola said the industry is driven by small operators.

Stoner and Smith’s $4.5 million center has a mix similar to the one planned for Sunbury – 22 lanes, including a room with four private lanes, four mini-bowling lanes, a 4,000-square-foot arcade, Xbox and Wii game system lounges, and outdoor volleyball, horseshoe pits and cornhole. As for the food, it will include a sports bar, casual restaurant and cafe.

Richmond, Va.-based AMF Bowling Centers Inc. has more than 340 bowling facilities nationwide. The 21-center Lucky Strike Lanes, owned by Lucky Strike Entertainment Inc. of Sherman Oaks, Calif., and one of the first to enter the boutique bowling sector, targets young adults with a Hollywood-lounge feel. It runs facilities in Louisville, Ky., and suburban Detroit.